Getting To Know Them
by eskalations
Summary: One lost princess and one ex-thief are eachothers company in the castle, but the Queen and King long to know their daughter and her companion better.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: School's almost over, and then Summer will be here! Then I can update some of these stories I have written! Also look on my profile if you just feel like reading another "Tangled" fanfiction because I think this is my fourth or fifth. This might turn into more than a oneshot, but as of now that is up in the air. But until that desision is made please read this chapter. My main goal wasn't to exactly have a story line I just wanted to practice writing in character and testing them out, please tell me what you thought of this!

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><p>"...he could do anything he wanted, he could go anywhere that he wanted to go," Eugene's reading was interupted by a light snore from the girl rest her head on his knee.<br>Rapunzel's short spikey hair cradled her head, curving around the shape of her face. His knee didn't look to comfortable but with the look on her face you would think it was the softest pillow a princess could find.

Eugene, rather than be offended, just chuckled as he smoothed back the loose brunette strands on her forehead.

They had been in her room all day painting the wallks and arranging the furniture to the princess's liking. The castle had been their home for a little over two months now but Rapunzel had been so overwhelmed with the celebrations and princess lessons that she hadn't had a chance to just be herself. Seeing this, Eugene had asked her parent's permission for their daughter to have the day off to do as she pleased, which they had readily agreed that she deserved it.

The day had been long, yet relaxing and Eugene decided that this had to be his favorite type of day.

In the months that he had known the girl currently asleep on his knee, the man had changed. If he wasn't the one that had gone through it, than as a bystander he would have never believed one person could change so much. Flynn Rider would be disgusted, but Eugene really didn't know what to feel.

He had fallen fast, faster than he thought was possible. It had to be some record right? I mean three days to fall in love,  
>that was stupendous! But not only did he fall in love, but he died for the object of his affection and was brought back to life by her. How could he not adore the girl?<br>Not only did his perspective change of life, but also his personality had changed immensely. Still his charming self,  
>the ex-thief now acted more childish, getting the years of childhood he had missed and living through him with the girl he was currently courting. Rapunzel was so innocent and childlike, it was almost like a bresh of fresh air or an ocean breeze, warm and inviting.<p>

Never would Flynn have imagined he would be running through the gardens chuckling as his princess spun and twirled and tripped without the weight of her magical golden hair, no Flynn was too busy thinking of that stupid dream of his. Well, she had replaced that too. Flynn would have found that impossible.

But Flynn was gone, he had died along with the magic in her long golden hair. Left in his place was Eugene Fitzherbert, who happened to have a clean slate, via a pardon from the royals, and a princess to court and protect with his life.

As Eugene continued to stare at the girl lying on his knee and curled up on the bed still in her dress from today, which happened to be covered in paint, another figure slipped into the room.

The Queen tried hard not to giggle at the look of love on the young man's face, the same look he wore everytime her daughter was around.

"Eugene?" She asked softly causing the young man reclining on the bed to jump, before realizing that the sleeping princess was still on his knee.

"Your majesty!" He said welcomingly and a little awkwardly as he realized he probably shouldn't still be in Rapunzel's room, but the Queen just blew it off and closed the door behind her walking over to the bed and sitting at the end of it.

Eugene sometimes couldn't believe the resemblance between Rapunzel and her mother, the brown chestnut hair and the round emerald eyes, but no freckles sprinkled the Queen's nose. Eugene only assumed that Rapunzel had gotten those from the King.

Shifting the Queen finally looked around the room at her daughter's murals that were splattered on the walls, she still had a long way to go. Only one wall in the room was painted but on it was a castle with lanterns pouring over the rooftops of the village below it. The Queen knew that Rapunzel loved the lanterns but she couldn't quite figure out why two figures rest in a lone canoe just watching the spectacle from afar.

It bugged her, the fact that she didn't know her daughter. As her mother she should be able to tell you all the girl's favorite dances and jokes and books, but she didn't know any of that. Over the two months her and her husband had been struggling to get to know their daughter, but it proved harder then they thought. Everyone was pushing the now found princess to take her princess lessons, and even Eugene was having to attend some lessons of his own. These two strangers in her household she hadn't even gotten to know yet, and one was half of her. The only time all of them talked was at meals and that usually was filled with the constant playful bickering between Eugene and Rapunzel.

The princess had yet to call her parents mother and father, she didn't know them well enough. Both understood her hesitation, but Rapunzel wasn't a hesitant kind she was too curious for that, they both feared that she simply would never want to call them her parents, that she had felt more at home with that horrid Mother Gothel.  
>Rapunzel only really ever talked to Eugene, ofcourse she did talk to everyone else making comments and asking questions, but all her thoughts and feelings were kept exclusively to share with him.<p>

The Queen always saw them taking strolls through the garden or just walking hand in hand down the castle halls, while Rapunzel looked wide eyed around her, Eugene would watch closely to catch the first sign of curiousity in her eyes. When she asked a question he already had an answer, always a witty one, never as logical as it should be, but Rapunzel would just giggled and take his arm pulling him down the hall.

Eugene knew her best and for while the Queen had simply wanted to sit and talk to the ex-thief just to talk about her daughter, to learn her likes and dislikes but it seemed like life always got in the way.

But right now was perfect, while the both were sitting here simply watching the princess sleep contentedly on the man she was courtings leg.

"Eugene? May I ask you something?" Their was a maternal sound in her voice, it made Eugene smile. This woman was definately a step up from Mother Gothel.

"If I said no you would just order me to say yes, so you may ask whatever you please," The Queen rolled her eyes at the man's witty reply, though she knew it was true. He knew from all his refusals to talk in court that the royals could just order him to speak.

"What is she like?" The question threw Eugene offguard, he didn't quite understand what the woman was asking.

"Huh?" was the only reply she recieved.

"Rapunzel. What does she like to do?" The Queen's green eyes looked into his hazel ones with mere curiousity, reminding him so much of her daughter.

"Well as you can see from the, uh drawings on the wall painting is her favorite thing to do." Gesturing at the wall over on his left the Queen smiled and nodded already knowing that Rapunzel enjoyed this activity. It was one of the many things she shared with her.

"Another thing she can do is bake, her cupcakes are utterly stupendous the chef got mad that Rapunzel's were even better then his, which to be honest aren't that great in the first place," Eugene said the last part with a slight bitterness, for the royal chef wasn't the nicest person they had seemed to meet in the castle.

"The next time she makes them I believe I will be the judge of that, I love cupcakes," Eugene chuckled at what the Queen had said, nodding his head. "Rapunzel also likes to clean, don't ask me why but every morning before the maids come to her room she has already swept and made her bed, before long those poor maids will be out of a job," As he was saying this he remembered that morning when he had walked in and she was hurriedly sweeping the floor, the maids walked in about an hour later gaping at the cleanliness of the room.

"There's a few strange things thrown in there too, like the fact Rapunzel can make better candles then anyone in this kingdom and if talking to chameleon is considered a talent, then she has it," The Queen smiled looking over on the nightstand where a silent green Pascal squeked his agreement.

"Well what does she not like?" This stopped Eugene in his tracks and he looked down at the Princess sleeping on his knee.

Just that morning they had been talking about one thing she hated more than anything, the word "Mother". Rapunzel wasn't stupid and she realized that she shouldn't hold bitterness in her heart, after all the owner of that name for the first eighteen years of her life had taken care of her, but it wasn't right for the woman that should have been reading her bedtime stories and singing her to sleep.

"She does not like the word Mother," Eugene whispered that but the Queen heard and averted his eyes as she looked out the window at the full moon drifting through the sky. "It has nothing to do with you, after Gothel stole that rightful title away from you and used it for herself Rapunzel just can't bring herself to call you that when it will only remind her of someone that once betrayed her.

Nodding slightly the Queen looks down at the slumbering princess, watching as Eugene's tanned fingers lovingly played with the loose strands of her daughter's hair.

Rapunzel was so full of life and love, she knew that the hate that surely filled her whenever she thought of that woman proved not to be the greatest of feelings. She probably wouldn't use the word Father yet either because it wouldn't be fair to her Mother.

Their daughter was spectacular, even if she didn't know her well the Queen just knew that as a fact. Rapunzel was so aware of the people around her, that she just couldn't compare them to things she didn't like.

"Is that all?" The Queen asked the ex-thief as he chuckled a bit looking straight at her.

"Yeah if you havn't noticed, this girl pretty much loves everything," They both smiled knowing well that this was true. "She loves you too you know that right?"

The touching statement surprised the Queen when it was coming out of Eugene's mouth, but she figured she knew it all along.

"Yeah, I know."

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><p>AN#2: Review?:)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I didn't know whether I was going to continue this story and I'm sorry it took so long but this morning I saw a sketch on my dashboard on tumblr and it gave me this idea. Please review?

Disclaimer: I don't own "Tangled" or the characters, they belong to Disney.

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><p>She can't bring herself to understand the amount of hurt both of the visitors in her castle have gone through. Silence seems to settle in comfortably for them, but behind that silence the pain still lurks.<p>

The Queen always watches from the royal study, through the grand windows that lead to the mazelike garden. Nature had always been the comfort she seeked when she needed to think and in the past few months she has been having to visit it more and more.

A book clutched in her pale hands, long brown hair swept up in a half bun, and green eyes staring out at the cloudy sky before her,  
>the Queen sat in the cusioned chair, hating the way it made her aging back feel.<p>

Looking around, she made sure that no one of importance was around to scold her for being so unladylike as she kicked off the flats on her feet and tucked her legs underneath her.

The Queen didn't know why she had brought the book with her when she knew her mind would be thousands of miles away,  
>maybe it was just in case someone found her and she didn't want to look like a nutcase staring out the window at nothing.<p>

It had almost been a year, a year since her daughter and rescuer had returned to the kingdom. The baby that she held what felt like just yesterday had turned nineteen a day ago. The lanterns had been lovely as they are every year, but now it was a happy affair, not one of loss.

But this morning at breakfast, instead of the usual playful banter that the Queen had become so accoustomed too between her daughter and Eugene, their was little talking whatsoever. She had looked at her husband with questioning eyes, but saw that he too was looking at the couple with a crease between his brow, similar to their daughter's.

Occasionally they would whisper something to the other while they ate their breakfast and kept their eyes downcast unless they were looking at eachother. The fact that the two held hands tightly the whole time, underneath the table, didn't escape the Queen's notice though.

Now she watched from her study as two figures came out the palace doors below her and began walking, hand in hand, towards the gardens.

From her spot, the Queen could see that they were talking very quietly amongst themselves, with solemn expressions on their faces.  
>Eugene trailed a bit behind the princess, never letting go of her tiny hand within his, and never letting his hazel eyes wander from the back of her head.<p>

Rapunzel stopped in the middle of the path, turning to her companion and pulling the ends of her short brown hair. The princess today had neglected to wear her crown and instead of one of her fancy dresses, she wore the one that she had returned in.

Eugene though wore his usual attire that he had obtained when Rapunzel had been returned, the dark black vest looked even darker when next to his tanned skin, the brown pants resembled the ones he had worn when thieving, but on his feet instead of the newer, black pair he had received, he wore the old brown pair from his days as a thief.

This fascinated the Queen, why were they wearing their old clothes? Watching carefully she saw Eugene place a firm hand on Rapunzel's shoulder and leaned down so that he was face to face with her. She could see him whisper something gently to the princess, while her big green eyes filled with tears and her usual sunny demeanor turned stormy as her face contorted into one of pain.

Still grasping her hand, Eugene walked over to a stone bench over on the right side of the path, giving the Queen a clear view of the two of them. Looking up though, he saw the clouds above and said something to the girl next to him who still had tears strolling down her pale face.

"Dear what are you doing? The deep voice scared her slightly for she thought that she was still alone. Feeling her husband's hand rest on her shoulder, the Queen grasped his hand in hers.

"Shhh," Looking over to where his wife's gaze was directed, the man looked on with slight pain noticing the tears on his daughter's face but quickly hid it behind a chuckle as he looked down at the woman in front of him.

"You do realize they cannot hear us, correct?"

The Queen simply ignored him, green eyes never moving from the two in the gardens. For a year, the woman had tried to understand the strange dynamic between Rapunzel and Eugene, the almost underlying understanding that no one else could be welcomed into.

In the gardens, as they sat on the stone bench, Eugene grabbed the hand tha rested in his and kissed her palm lighty, almost unsure of what he was doing. Even after a year, the romantic part of this relationship was still a little lost on him, but seeing the look on Rapunzel's face he just seem to act unconsciously, wanting to stop the pain that could never be stopped unless she made peace with her past.

The Queen watched as Eugene lifted his free tanned hand and ran it gently through the choppy brown locks on the back of the princess's head, looking up when a raindrop fell on to his forehead and then another weaved its way through his brunette locks.

The young man gave Rapunzel's hand a squeeze as he pointed at the sky with their locked fingers. The princess just shook her head,  
>lowering her gaze as the tears stopped slightly and were replaced by raindrops upon her pale cheeks.<p>

"Rapunzel I don't want you to get sick," Eugene tried not to let too much emotion seep into his voice, not wanting to show her how much her really depended on her.

Shaking her head again, the spikey hairs on her head bouncing slightly and concealing her face, began to fall down a bit as the humidity in the summer air picked up and the smell of rain became present.

"A year Eugene, a year since you died and since Gothel died and since I figured out who I truly was, but yet the pain is still so real and I just...well I just can't..." The princess looked down at her free hand as it began to play with the old familiar pink fabric of the dress she had worn for years before a thief stumbled upon her, feet kicking the pavement slightly wanting to be free of their imprisoment by the flats that everyone insisted she wear.

Eugene suddenly grasped her chin within his strong hand, gently guiding her gaze to his, and for once showing her the emotion that he always tried to hide. The pain that day had caused him, the thought of losing her still so real to him. The rain had begun to fall harder, soaking the two of them but neither truly caring about anything but the other.

"Exactly Rapunzel it's just been a year, a year filled with happy things and new things that you and I never dreamed we would ever get to experience. You have parent's who love you now Rapunzel, not because of your hair or the power you use to hold, but because you are theirs and they are just so happy to have you home with them." Shakily wiping a tear that slid down her face at his words, Eugene inched his face closer to her's so that he had a clear view of those emerald eyes of her's, "I love you Rapunzel, and never doubt for one moment that I wouldn't go through with that all over again if it meant I got to be with you now."

The princess began to cry even harder as she launched herself into his now opened arms, just waiting for her to be welcomed back into the place where she belonged, with him.

"I love you too Eugene, so much," Her voice was muffled by the fabric of his vest and the sound of the rain falling around them. Eugene smiled slightly, pressing his wet lips against her damp hair and murmuring to her gently.

"I love you most, Princess."

In the study, almost brought to tears herself the Queen watched as the couple stood up and keeping as close as they could, walked down the path towards the doors. The King simply stood their, the sadness evident in his eyes at his daughter's pain.

"I'm afraid we're never going to understand," She had said it simply, and she was beginning to except that fact for it wasn't her pain to harbor or to cure.

"I'm afraid not dear," The King looked down gently at his wife as she placed her book on the shelf behind her, never moving her gaze up to his. But when she sat back up again, he grasped her chin within his fingers and saw tears in those big green eyes, so much like their daughters," But I'm glad she has someone who does."

Remembering the look that Eugene held on his face, the love and the affection, the Queen couldn't help but nod her head in agreement. "In fact he came to my office the other day to ask me a certain question in which I said yes to," The Queen's big green eyes grew wider as she looked directly at her husband while he just nodded down at her. Expecting her to jump out of her chair and scream out of happiness like any mother would, he just stood and waited for a reaction.

His wife though decided to be different, and she hit him gently on the arm rolling her eyes. "Why am I of all people being the last one to hear of this?"

Right after she had asked that question, they heard an excited squeal from down the hall followed by a girl's giggles and a man's laugh.

"Well, not the last one." With that the King simply laughed as he linked arms with his wife, both bracing themselves for the happy news of an engagement.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Saw a picture on my tumblr dash this morning that gave me this inspiration, so I hope you like it. Please tell me what you think!

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><p>Eugene was awakened in the middle of the night by a swift kick in the side, that he knew would leave a bruise in the morning. He was still groggy but he looked around the darkened room of the princess, the only light coming from behind the curtains of the nearest window. All was still, but he couldn't help wonder what had hit him so hard.<p>

That's when he remembered he wasn't the only one in the room.

Rolling over onto his side, Eugene came face to face with a sleeping princess, who in her sleep had tears strolling down her pale cheeks. Hair mused from sleep, her tiny hand reached up from under the covers and she gripped tightly to the little strands on her head, pulling it, then crying out in pain.

"No, please don't take it from me," Eugene watched as he realized with horror what exact event she was dreaming about. But this wasn't a dream, no it was a nightmare.

For a year he had been sneaking into the princess's room every night, both upon return to the castle had been haunted by their past and the only thing that seemed to stop it was the other's presence.

Eugene would never admit that he too had been having nightmares when they had become residence of the castle, you just don't die without being haunted by something. Neither had really talked about nightmares in the past months, if Rapunzel were to wake in the middle of the night and she was scared, usually he would wrap a strong arm around her tiny shoulder and hold her tightly to him. Sooner or later, the princess would fall asleep and at dawn he would jump out the window and scale the outside of the castle until he came to the balcony that was attached to his room.

This nigthmare though seemed to be worse than the others. Rapunzel had never kicked or hit or even talked in her sleep before, sure she had cried a few times but she seemed to be trying to get away from something,  
>or someone.<p>

The petite princess had beads of sweat on her forehead, her brow was crinkled in a painful expression, and her lip quivered as it always does when she cries.

"No! Don't take him from me! Please!" Her voice was raising with each syllable, the pain becoming more and more evident as she began to struggle even more, kicking Eugene yet again where she had before.

Eugene decided she had suffered more than she deserved, reaching out as gently yet firmly as he could while still laying on his side, he gripped onto her shoulders and began to shake her.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel!" The bright emerald eyes of the princess looked right at him when they were awoken from the nightmare. Eugene could see the relief and the happiness that floated behind those big orbs nearly all the time. The tears still falling, she placed one of her delicate hands on the one that gripped her shoulder lovingly.

"Eugene?" She asked him in almost disbelief, just as she had when he had awoken from his death, like she was scared to get her hopes up.

"Yeah princess, it's me," With that the tiny girl threw her arms around his neck,  
>getting as close to him as she could, tangling her legs within the sheets with his. Her grip was strong and although Eugene was tempted to make a joke about breathing, he kept his mouth shut and hugged her as close to him as he could.<p>

"It was terrible, Eugene," Rapunzel's voice was barely above a whisper as her grip on him became tighter, remembering the nightmare before. She was drenched in sweat, the tendrils of hair on her forehead were clinging together and her nightgown had become slightly damp from her struggle and the warm summer air that crept through the window.

"Was it the same dream as always?" They never really discussed the dreams, not wanting to worry the other and put ideas into their head.

"Yes. But this was the worst," The princess's voice was firm as she pulled away from her fiancee slightly and looked up into his hazel eyes, the worry that he tried so hard to hide was evident and she reached up a small hand to caress his stubbly cheek,"I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's ok, I don't think I have ever been kicked awake," The girl's face contorted into a slightly calculating expression until she realized the part of the dream she must of awoken him at. Shaking her head slightly trying to clear her thoughts as easy as she could, the princess flicked a piece of hair that had fallen into Eugene's eyes.

"Still, I'm sorry," He just smiled sadly at her, nodding while he flipped back over on to his back, Rapunzel cuddling up to his bare chest as their joined hands came to rest on his stomach.

"Did I die?" Eugene's question was meant to sound nonchalant, but it came out sounding timid more than anything. The subject of death was still quite touchy for him, he didn't like to discuss that day in the tower with anyone.

"Yes," Was the simple answer he got in return as Rapunzel hid her face in his chest,  
>trying not to cry again for the pain in the dream was so real, because it at one point had been.<p>

Eugene didn't know what to say to comfort the girl, he didn't even know how to comfort himself when it came to this subject. That day that would plague him forever was still so clear, so recent and painful that it hurt him just to think back to that dagger being slid so easily into his side, his heartbeat slowing with every word he spoke.

"Rapunzel?" The gentle voice caused the princess to look up at her companion, as he gazed down into her big emerald eyes, one side of his mouth was quirked up in a slight smile. The girl nodded in acknowledgment for him to continue. "Listen."

Rapunzel's face became questioning but he just rolled his eyes to the ceiling and raised his eyebrows, giving her one of his nonchalant expressions. Gripping him a little closer to her, she began to listen to everything around her, the tiny snores coming from Pascal as he slept on the pillow behind her, the sound of the breeze whistling through the trees outside her windows, the slight creaks in the castle as it settled in the night. Listening closely though she could hear another person's deep breaths, and when she began to listen even closer she could hear a heartbeat beating in rythym with her own.

Looking up, the princess realized that these noises were coming from the man that she was snuggled up against.

"Your heartbeat, your breathing," She said it in such a small voice that Eugene should have had difficulty hearing her answer, but after years of having to keep his eyes and ears open for anything suspicious he heard her perfectly well.

"Yes, yes I am," He replied gently while bringing their joined hands to his lips and kissing each one of her knuckles until he reched the finger that held the engagement ring that had been given to her earlier, "I promised you today that I would always be here, and I don't want you to ever forget that. Not even death can seperate me from you, Rapunzel."

Tears began to blur her vision as she nodded and grasped his hand even tighter within her own, scooting up slightly so that she could put her face within his warm neck. The two fit together perfectly, almost like puzzle pieces.

Still holding tightly to eachother, they began to drift into sleep,  
>their heartbeats beating in time with the other, and their breathing slowing almost to the exact pace.<p>

Rapunzel though right before drifting off into another sleep, that she knew would be much more peaceful, the princess leaned up to Eugene's ear and breathed out, " You are my new dream."

In his sleep, Eugene smiled, for she was his.

The next morning when the two were sitting at breakfast, the Queen just as she had yesterday, watched the couple carefully as they ate the food placed before him.

Their playful banter had returned, and right now they were fighting over who got the last piece of banana bread that was resting on the larger plater in the middle of the table.

"Blondie, please I'm starving and my lessons are really long and tiring today," Eugene reached his fork out trying without much effort though to get the last piece of the delicious bread, Rapunzel's fork though stopped him from advancing.

"Eugene you only have two lessons today, I have four, please it's my favorite part of breakfast!" The princess argued with him, the playful gleam evident in both challengers eyes. Eugene though, dropped his fork and held up his hands in defeat.

"Fine princess, you win," The girl smiled at him brightly as she took the piece of bread from the platter, but after a moment of just staring at it, she ripped it in half and placed one of the pieces on his plate.

Eugene laughed slightly, as one of his hands hid under the table where Rapunzel's was waiting for his to join her's. They took hold of the other's hand tightly and ate the rest of their breakfast in a comfortable silence.

Even though they seemed to be in better spirits today than they were yesterday, the Queen couldn't help but notice the slight tension in which they held themselves, and the way they grasped hands slightly tighter as if they were scared the other would suddenly be taken away from they other.

The Queen was no idiot, and she knew that Eugene had been sneaking into her daughter's room for the past year, but honestly it didn't worry her that much.

She had come to realize that there are some things that the two had gone through that can only be comforted by the other, things that in all her years she could never imagine going through.

With the wedding planning drawing close she was hoping that she would get to know the couple in front of her a little more, and figure out what it was that made them compliment the other so perfectly.

But for now, all she did was smile at the two and finish her breakfast.

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><p>AN#2: Please Review?<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I hope you enjoy this one, I actually had a lot of fun expanding this story to the wedding planning. Some asked if I will do flashbacks to the engagement and such, and I will if I'm struck with an idea but as of right now I havn't got a good one so I wouldn't want to disappoint with a horrible oneshot that just doesn't have much feeling in it. Other than that I'm planning on continuing this story though! Please Review! Thank you to those who have already done so!

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><p>"Rapunzel dear, is something bothering you?" The Queen asked gently, as she set down the teacup she had been sipping tea delicately from. She held the air of a royal but in those big green eyes that she shared with her daughter, motherly concern was evident.<p>

For the past hour they had been in the study, having their daily tea at the same time as usual. The Queen had put this together soon after her daughter's return in hope that she would come to understand her better, but if she were being honest this time only made her more and more curious of the mind that was her daughter's.

Looking up for the first time in ten minutes, fingers ceasing to play with the green satin that made up her dress, Rapunzel nodded vigorously, "Yes, everything is fine. I'm sorry I guess I just got lost in my thoughts."

The Queen watched Rapunzel for a moment before shrugging her shoulders slightly and returning to the book resting on the small table in front of her. The title which it bore was "The Careful Steps Of A Royal Wedding," which had been used to plan the Coronian royalties weddings for centuries. The Queen had been hoping planning a wedding would bring her closer to the daughter she had only known for a little over a year, but it hadn't proved effective yet.

"Ok now let's see, the flowers are quite an important part..." The Queen trailed off slightly while her finger drifted effortlessly across the page, scanning the various flowers that were deemed acceptable,"Dear do you have any idea of what you want that to be?"

The young princess looked at her mother for a second before looking out the window and smiling, "I love all flowers, I will surely be satisfied with anything you choose."

"Well what about Eugene, do you think he has a preference?"

Rapunzel laughed slightly, rolling her eyes still gazing longingly out the window,"No I'm pretty sure if it was up to him there wouldn't be a big celebration, let alone flowers."

The Queen had to smile at that, remembering her husband's protest at the celebration thrown for their wedding, men seemed to hold all the same qualities when it came to these sorts of things.

The princess's gaze still stared out the window beside them, her tea completely untouched and her attention on the man who was just beyond that window in the yard with the guards, training as a part of his prince consort lessons.

The Queen watched as Rapunzel's face lit up when she saw that Eugene seemed to be doing particularly well in this class, but she didn't miss the nervous glimmer in her daugher's eyes when she saw the sword he was clutching in his hand.

"Eugene is doing well in swordfighting dear, there is nothing to worry about," But the girl's eyes didn't leave her fiancee, carefully calculating each move that he and his opponents made. It was no secret that the guards couldn't stand the man, and Rapunzel feared that they would harm him if they ever got the chance.

"I'm not worried," Rapunzel murmured still gazing into the yard, eyes glued to the scene, her efforts to show her mother she wasn't worried about her constant companion would have been useless if she had tried.

The Queen, realizing that Rapunzel would not pay attention to the matters at hand unless she knew that Eugene was safe, closed the book and like her daughter, leaned forward so that she could get a clear view of the fight taking place beyond the glass pane.

Eugene was quick, he always seem to have the upperhand no matter who his opponent was, credit that to all those years as a thief. The sword that he used though, didn't feel quite as right as that frying pan had, maybe that's just because it reminded him of Rapunzel.

The man was beginning to get tired and bored with all this nonsense, his opponent at the moment was a young man of about twenty-one and you could tell he had not been trained well yet. Eugene knew how to keep the sword from actually touching the young guard's body, but apprently the boy did not.

Eugene hadn't worn any protective clothing for usually he was going against men who knew if they were to harm him in any way they would be removed immediately, he wore his usual attire of a sleek black vest, plain white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the creases in his elbows, and the shiny black boots that had been given to him upon returning the lost princess to the kingdom.

For one tiny second, Eugene had let his mind wander to the princess who was surely planning their wedding right now, thinking of her soft, spikey brown hair and the adorable way she smiled and showed off her overbite, the way she would mumble about nonsense as he held her hand, completely content with listening to the jumble of words leaving her mouth.

That's when he felt a pain in his right arm.

The man he had been fighting had not yet been taught how to merely practice with someone and had accidently hit his mark.

Eugene stunned for a second dropped his sword just as the young guard in front of him had and raised his hand to his arm where a large gash had blood seeping out, staining the white shirt he wore.

"Oh I'm sorry sir! I didn't mean to do that! Please, please have mercy on me! I need this job, I have a wife and a baby on the way and..."  
>Eugene held up the hand of his injured arm to silence the man.<p>

"I'm not going to say no harm done because, well I'm harmed," The guard had started to shake a bit so the future prince consort realized that maybe sarcasm was not the way to go with this,"But I guarantee you will not lose your job, it was an honest mistake."

The man breathed out a sigh of relief as the guards, who had been watching the whole spectacle in silence, began to scatter in every which way. No one offered to get the physician or to help Eugene, but to be honest he did not want the help of these petty men who called themselves honorable.

The guard who had injured him offered help, but Eugene denied it, wanting nothing more than to have the walk to the physician alone. He was already nervous about Rapunzel seeing him on the walk to the palace infirmary, he knew she would freak out and most likely blow the whole thing out of proportion. If he walked alone though she might see that atleast he could do that without assistance.

Reaching the doors that led into the palace though, he realized he was not going to be that lucky, for the Queen and Princess had been watching from the study instead of doing the wedding planning that was suppose to be the topic of discussion.

When he reached for the doorknob though the doors before him flew open, nearly knocking him off the stone steps.

"Eugene!" A voice shrieked as a small figure jumped into his arms and hugged him so tightly that he was afraid his breathing had ceased. The spikey haired princess began to look him over with those big green eyes of her's as the Queen came over to them, trying to coax her daughter to calm down.  
>"I'm so sorry Eugene, are you going to be okay? How much blood have you lost? Why wern't you letting anyone escort you inside? You could have died on the way up the steps and then I would have felt terrible because I wouldn't have got here on time! Don't take yourself away from me Eugene!" This had all been said in one breath as the princess examined her fiancee quickly, checking his pulse with her tiny fingers pressing them deep into his neck, desperate to feel his usually fast beating heart.<p>

Eugene had just stood there in shock, hearing only half of what Rapunzel had said, when she had jumped into his arms though he had to remove the hand from the wound which was still bleeding badly.

"Hey, hey blondie calm down! I'm fine, really I am," He tried vainly to get the girl to look up into his eyes but she was too busy examining the wound that was soaking the arm of his shirt.

"Rapunzel, let Eugene go so that we can take him to the infirmary. He needs to apply pressure to the cut," The princess looked back at her mother, before quickly letting go of the future prince consort.

"Sorry! Let's go," She tugged on his arm as he tried to place the hand that he had used earlier to cover the wound, directly over it to apply pressure, but with a little pixielike girl pulling on his arm it was proving to be a hard task.

It had been about an hour since the incident had occured, and the royals sat outside of the infirmary door. The Queen was reading a rather exciting romance novel, while her husband stood by the window and gazed out at the kingdom below, Rapunzel though sat nervously beside her mother's chair, on the floor.

"Dear, honestly wouldn't you rather sit in a chair?" The Queen looked down at her daughter, who upon arriving here and having Eugene quickly ushered inside, had barely said a word. The girl merely shook her head, the nervous glint in her emerald orbs growing with each tick of the clock across the hall.

"Honey he will be absolutely fine, even the doctor said that," The King turned worriedly to his daughter, who gave him a feeble nod.

"He can't die," Rapunzel whispered as she stood up and began to pace back and forth between the two walls of the hallway in which they were waiting in. Her bare feet made slight sounds on the floor as her green dress swished against the tile beneath her, making her even more anxious.

"Who said anything about dying, Rapunzel?" The Queen asked her daughter worriedly as she watched the princess walk back and forth, hands wringing nervously in front of her, as she mumbled things that the royals strained to here.

"No one, but it's happened before and I don't want it to happen again," The girl received strange glances as she continued to pace back and forth, looking at the clock every few seconds,"Why hasn't he come out yet?"

The King raised an eyebrow at his daughter,"Well I imagine he had to have stiches, the cut from what I have heard from your mother was pretty deep," The Queen had went and retrieved her husband from his office after the happenings of this afternoon, worried about both the man in pain and the girl who could't seem to accept the fact that he was going to be fine.

"Stiches?" The girl nearly yelled as her eyes grew wide, and her face drained of all its color, "You mean they are going to stich him up like a doll?"  
>The King quickly retailiated, "Dear, it just means that it will help the skin grow back together faster and that he will be better in no time," Still breathing heavily the girl slumped down the wall and onto the floor, curling her legs up and hugging them tightly to her chest, the tears that had taken so long to fall began to pour freely now.<p>

"Mother, this is all my fault," The Queen started for she had been sharing a glance with her husband.

Rapunzel, for the first time since she arrived home, had uttered the word Mother, the word that so long ago Eugene had told the Queen that Rapunzel was scared to use.

For the first time since her daughter's return home, the Queen felt like the mother to the little girl who was curled up and absolutely beside herself with worry.

Forgetting all the manners classes and etiquette, the Queen picked up the skirt of her long lavender dress and got up off the chair in which she had been seated, her motherly instincts took over as she too sank to the floor and gathered the young woman who looked more like a child at this moment, within her arms.

"Oh darling it isn't your fault, it's not anyone's, things sometimes happen to us like this and we don't understand but that's just how it's suppose to be," Rapunzel looked up at her mother, green eyes shining with tears that hadn't ceased to fall, "A cut won't do anything to him Rapunzel, Eugene is a strong young man and I can almost gurantee when he walks out that door he will say something either completely witty or completely stupid."

Her daughter laughed slightly as her eyes darted to the door where surely her companion would do exactly what her mother said he would. By this time, the King had walked over to the two women who sat on the ground and crouched down so that he was eyelevel with Rapunzel.

"Your mother is right princess, Eugene never seems to fail with the witty entrances," The King chuckled slightly as he playfully ruffled his daughter's hair, then fixed the askew tiara that adorned it, if he had known all those times that Flynn Rider, who waltzed into his court never failing to say something completely idiotic, would become the object of his daughter's affection, he would have laughed so hard that you would have thought he had just heard the funniest thing that was ever said on this Earth.

Rapunzel smiled a her parents, sniffling slightly as she wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand in a very unprincess like manner, "Thank you."

The two nodded at the girl, and at that moment the doors across from them opened.

"Hey blondie it's to bad you don't have your hair anymore because I am not going to lie, these stiches make me look stupid," Before the man could even finish the sentence though the princess had already launched herself into his arms, which he was prepared for this time, not even caring about the pain that shot through his arm.

"Eugene just, shhh for a moment ok?" The man smiled at the girl in his arms and just held her tightly to him, as the King and Queen rasied themselves from the floor to come over to the couple.

"He's going to be fine," Doctor Morris whispered from behind the young man, he gave them the instructions for the precautions he would have to take and when the stiches would be removed.

The whole time though, Rapunzel and Eugene hadn't been listening for they just stood there in the middle of the hall, holding onto the other.

Looking outside, the sun had began to set and they were sure that soon dinner would be served in the dining room on the other side of the palace.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm starving! Race you to the dining room princess?" But before she could answer, he had already let her go and was running down the hall quickly, only to turn back around and teasingly show her the tiara he held in his hand.  
>"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed taking off down the hall, laughing all the way, trying to catch up with the man she loved.<p>

The King and Queen stood for a moment, looking out the window at the castle bathed in the sunset, the various oranges and reds that hit the town's homes was breathtaking.

"Quite the interesting day," The King murmured turning from the window and offering his arm to his wife, who stood motionless for a moment with a small smile on her face before turning.

"Yes, yes it was."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Another chapter! I'm taking a vacation this weekend with my family to the beach so I won't be able to add another chapter for awhile, and I start school next week. Please leave a review!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Tangled" or its characters, they belong to Disney.

* * *

><p>The princess woke up with a horrible headache, not knowing necessarily what a headache was or what it feels like, let's just say it was definately not a quiet morning.<p>

Rapunzel awoke same as usual, not wanting to leave the warm sheets that covered her and have to go plan the wedding celebration that would take place in a few months. But something was off.

Her head pounded when she turned away from the window that the sun proudly showed off its rays through, and her body was cold despite the warm September air that filled the room.

"That's weird," She mumbled while taking her fingers and placing them at the source of the pain, her temples. Sitting up reluctantly,  
>Rapunzel leaned against the headboard and shut her eyes trying to get rid of the pounding that seemed to echo through her ears.<p>

Suddenly a conversation she had once had with Eugene came back to her.

"Eugene, what did it feel like?" Her quiet question reached her companions ear as he lay sprawled out on the sofa in the library, the princess laying lazily on top of him as they watched the fire dance before them, the cold air outside made the room all the more cozy, they had been sitting in comfortable silence for hours.

"What princess?" Eugene didn't quite understand what feeling she was talking about.

"To die."

Her voice had become so serious and those bright emerald eyes looked up at him, already swimming with tears and curiousity.

Eugene looked back down at her, the words in his brain becoming jumbled as he remembered the pain of that day, the loss that he felt when his heart beat for the last time, the peace though that he had felt knowing that the wonderful girl he had fallen in love with was free.

"What brought that on Rapunzel?"

The young girl looked up at her boyfriend, bringing their joined hands up closer to her as she examined their fingers interlocked with eachothers.

"I just want to know Eugene, I'm not a child so please don't change it for me," He saw the confidence in her eyes, the wanting to be treated as her age as opposed to the care she got from everyone around the castle. Rapunzel was babied, she hadn't been in civilization before so no one truly knew how to approach a young woman who should be noble, yet runs around with bare feet all day long.

Eugene sighed deeply, looking away from those orbs that could keep him captivated for hours if they wanted. Squeezing her hand and adjusting his arm around her waist so that he could bring her even closer than she already was, the young man looked back down at the girl he loved.

"Dying was strange, it felt just as I had expected it would, the pounding in your head, the shivers that coarse through your body as the life is zapped out of you, the pain that comes and goes as you are pulled between the fabrics of reality, but what I didn't expect was that ultimate feeling of loss. I knew you were free and that alone let me die in peace, but the selfish part of me wanted to be there with you every step of the way on every adventure, every new discovery, every single day of the rest of our lives. I guess it truly was as bittersweet as everyone says it is."

Eugene could feel a tug at his heart as Rapunzel silently laid her head sideways so that she could listen to its beating, her breathing had come out quick as she remembered the intense pain it had caused her to watch the man she loved die in her arms.

"Thank you," She whispered to him as a warm tear slid down her cheek, leaving a sparkling trail behind it before falling onto his black vest. All the young man could do was squeeze the girl a little tighter than before, and kiss the top of her forehead.

"No problem Princess."

Coming back to the present day, Rapunzel suddenly started to breathe heavily as her head continued to pound and she shivered even more out of pure fear. The last straw though was the pain that seemed to not want to leave her throat no matter how much of the water she drank from the glass on her side table.

At that moment her mother walked in, and the tears began to flow from the princess's eyes.

"Darling, what's the matter?" The Queen said as calmly as her motherly instincts would allow, grasping the purple satin of her skirts and quickly running to the aid of her daughter.

"My head won't stop pounding!" The girl exclaimed hysterically as her mother pulled her into a comforting hug, feeling the warm forehead of the princess, and the shivers wracking through her body along with sobs.

"Dear I just think-," But the Queen had to stop for quickly the girl reached out for the water on the sidetable beside her and she gulped all of it, waiting in silence for a moment, and then breaking out in sobs again.

"It won't go away, mother!" The young princess continued to cry as her mother tightly wrapped her arms around her, trying her best to be of comfort.

"Oh my dear, I think your sick," Rapunzel looked up at her, those wide green eyes, red from the tears that had fallen from them. The little drops of water still fell, but the princess's face shifted strangely.

"Sick?"

The Queen realized that Rapunzel must not know what being sick even means, the mother recalled that the healing flower had healed her so it must of healed her child too in some ways. But her hair was brown now, so she must be experiencing this for the first time.

"Yes, Rapunzel. Here I'm going to go get the doctor, I will have Miss Lucy bring you another glass of water. Please though calm yourself down, the more you cry, the worse is will get." The Queen then left the room, watching as Rapunzel nodded feebly and hid back under her covers, overcome with a fever.

"Lucy!" The personal maid of the princess was just walking down the hall to help the girl get ready for the day. Brown hair up in a bun, and hazel eyes shining like they were every morning since the two had arrived.

"Yes. your majesty?" Lucy bowed before the queen, smoothing out her skirts and apron as she spotted the look of discontent on their rulers face.

"Rapunzel isn't feeling well, I'm going to go and fetch the doctor, would you mind going and getting her a glass of water?"

Lucy smiled slightly and shook her head, "Nothing would please me more, should I also go tell of the princess's state of health?" The Queen smiled and nodded, knowing that if anyone could calm her daughter down it would be him.

Lucy smiled slightly, the sparkle returning to her eyes as she turned from the Queen and went on to continue her duties.

After fetching the doctor from the infirmary, The Queen stopped at her husband's office, where the King sat at his desk, scribbling notes and such on a piece of paper. Seeing the open book on the desk though, his wife knew that he had been neglecting his work.

"Dear, Rapunzel is sick. The doctor is already on his way to her room, would you like to join me?" The King's eyes widened as he quickly closed the book that lay open, and threw down the pen he had been writing with. Coming up to his wife, he offered his arm to her, the evident worry already flooding those expressive blue eyes. "Don't worry I think it may just be a cold."

The sight that met them when they reached Rapunzel's room though nearly broke both of their hearts.

In the middle of the huge lavender bed sat Rapunzel, who's eyes were still red and puffy as she tried her best to conceal the cries that threatened to rip right through her, the doctor though was trying his best to keep the thermometer that rested in her mouth from bobbing too much.

"Princess, you have to hold it still or it won't be accurate," The girl just looked up helplessly at the doctor, who in return gave her a sympathetic smile.

Both royals approached the bed slowly, hand in hand, standing on the side that didn't have the side table. Rapunzel looked up at her parents, the thermometer still dangling from between her lips. Both just looked down comfortingly at her, reaching out their hands and gently stroking her cheeks and hair.

"Ok, so she does have a fever, and a very red throat, I would say the princess has caught a mild case of the flu," Both parents looked at each other, relaxing a bit at the word mild, "She seems to be in excellent health otherwise so I would give it about 3 or 4 days to run its coarse."

"Thank you so much," The Queen expressed to the physician, who in return smiled slightly and bowed, telling her that he would give Lucy the medicine the young girl would have to take for the next few days.

Rapunzel had remained silent this whole time, leaning against her father's hand that gently stroked the brown spikey haircut. Her eyes were on the wall on the other side of the room, staring blankly at them.

"Father, may I have some water?" The girl asked timidly, testing the word on her tongue and looking up at him for a reaction.

The King looked surprisingly down at his daughter, she had never called him that before and it had only been a few weeks since the first time she had uttered the word "mother". The tears began to gather in his eyes, but pushing it down he leaned down so that he could answer her quietly.

"I already sent Lucy," The Queen told him, returning to the side of the bed after showing the doctor out of the room. She had heard Rapunzel's use of title, and couldn't help the gentle smile that adorned her lips.

Lucy, at that exact moment entered the young girl's room, a glass full of water set on the tray in her hands, along with a strange syrup.

"Sorry it took me so long, the doctor had to give me the instructions. Oh! will be here..." She was cut off by the sound of the door quickly opening and closing behind her and the rush of wind as a young man sprinted past her, "...right now."

"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed as her fiancee hurriedly came to her side,  
>opposite of the king and queen. The young girl's face upon seeing the man arrive had visibly brightened up despite the fact that it was still pale.<p>

"I'm sorry it took me so long," The man murmured to her as he sat by her side, gathering her into his arms and kissing her head multiple times and closing his eyes.

The King and Queen though had to laugh a bit at the man's appearance, he looked as if he seriously had just jumped out of bed and threw on random articles of clothing. He still had on his sleep pants, and he wore his white shirt that was buttoned in all the wrong holes, the poor young man hadn't even bothered with shoes.

"Eugene, I was so scared," The princess mumbled into his shoulder as he rocked her slightly from side to side.

"Your going to be ok princess, look Lucy even has your first round of medicine," The girl, for the first time, noticed her personal maid now stand beside her bed, pouring a bit of the medicine into a spoon.

While Rapunzel watched, Eugene turned his head to her parents and mouthed, "What does she have?"

Both royals mouthed back, "Flu".

The young man nodded, watching as the princess wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, clutching the fabric of his shirt tighter as Lucy, satisfied with the amount of medication on the spoon, held it out to Rapunzel.

"Here you go, your highness. Just take the medicine then I will hand you the glass so that you can get the taste out of your mouth," Rapunzel looked at the woman doubiously before taking another look at the sticky brown medicine that was suppose to go down her throat.

Letting go of Eugene's shirt, the girl lifted her hand slightly to grasp the spoon within her fingers, still crinkling her eyesbrows at the sight of it.

After a moment of speculation, she very carefully placed the spoon between her lips and sipped all the medicine from it. After that she gave the spoon back to Lucy, a disgusted look adorning her face.

"No princess, you must swallow," Eugene told her gently, holding his hand out for the glass that Lucy was holding. Rapunzel looked up at him with pleading green eyes, while his hazel ones looked back with a stern gaze. Finally, the girl swallowed the syrup and quickly grabbed for the glass in Eugene's hand.

The King and Queen watched as the princess again began to cry, hiding her face in Eugene's shirt. Lucy choose this moment to leave, deciding that she would check on the girl again in an hour to see if she needed anything.

"Rapunzel, dear you're going to be ok," Her Mother said gently,  
>the King and Queen walking over to the side of the bed where Eugene sat with the girl in his arms.<p>

"I know, I know," She kept on repeating as she looked up at her parents, then up at the man she loved who at the moment had a concerned look on his face,"I just got scared."

"Rapunzel, your just sick. The doctor said you have a very mild case of the flu, there's nothing to worry about," The King tried to offer some words of consolation but his wife just gave him a look that told him to keep his thoughts to himself, this comforting thing did'nt seem to be helping.

"I was scared I was going to die!" It came out of her mouth so quickly that it stunned the three other people in the room, two of which looked at her their mouths opened in shock, and one who looked down at the girl in his arms, shocked but with the most sympathetic and loving gaze anyone could ever conjure.

"Dear, it's just the flu," Her Mother recovered from her shock looking at her daughter, with a pleading gaze in her eyes, wanting the girl to calm down.

"I know, I know, it's just that my head was pounding and my throat felt like it had been burned by fire and I was shivering and I have never been sick before so I couldn't understand and Eugene, you told me that that's how it feels when you..." Rapunzel had said this all in one breath but on the last word she let out a painful sigh, "die."

Eugene looked down at the princess, finally understanding why she had been so scared. He knew that night that he shouldn't hav told her what it actually felt like to die, he knew that she would end up jumping to conclusions.

"Oh princess, I shouldn't have said anything," The young man squeezed her even tighter as she rested her head on his shoulder, holding on to him as if he were to disappear at any moment.

"It just scared me because, like you said I want to be with you every moment of every adventure and experience and, the thought of leaving you - ," The girl continued to cry to the point she couldn't form words, her throat felt as though someone had taken a match and lit it on fire.

The royals stood, wanting to comfort their daughter but they knew whatever they said wouldn't help.

After a few minutes of listening to Eugene whisper words of encouragement into the girl's ear they decided to leave.

"Tell her if she needs anything, we will be in the study," Eugene nodded, remembering that her parents were still in the room. His hazel eyes still contained that look of worry that surely wouldn't disappear until Rapunzel was back to normal.

"Alright I will, could you ask Lucy if she would send our lunches in here? I doubt I'm going to be able to pull myself away from her side," He said it with such sincerity, that both the King and Queen nodded at his wishes and backed out the door, closing it.

"Dear?"

The King asked as they walked down the hall silently, both wanting to take away the pain that seemed to crush their daughter.

"Yes?" She answered, turning another corner and barely missing the antique table that lay there, all the guards were silent as the majesties passed, all already knowing that their princess was sick.

"Have you ever noticed the strange way they talk about death?"

The Queen nodded, she had noticed that a very long time ago, and to be honest she had no idea whether she wanted to know why.

"I believe it's one of those things we won't ever understand."


End file.
